Collapsible crate.



Patented Dec. I7, |901.

W. A. GOLD.

CLLAPSIBLE CRATE.

(Application led Mar. 30, 1901.)

(llo Modal.)

a a O ullllnmilllm lapsed condition.

UNITED STaTns WILLIAM A. GOLD, OF PORT W'ASHINGTON, Ol-HO.

COLLAPSIBLE CRATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 689,046, dated December 17, 1901.

Application led March 30, 1901. Serial No. 53,639.` (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.-

Beit known that l, WILLIAM A. GOLD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Port Washington, in the county of Tuscarawas and State of Ohio, have invented cert-ain new and useful Improvements in Collapsible Crates, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has relation to collapsible crates; and it consists in the novel construction and arrangement of its parts, as hereinafter described.

The object of this invention is to provide a crate that will stand up when it contains fowls and which is adapted to be collapsed and folded up for reshipment. The crate is pro vided with hinged parts having protected hinges and supports for the free edges of the hinged members.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the crate in its opened condition. Fig. 2 is an edge view of the crate in its collapsed condition. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the crate in its col- Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view of the crate in its collapsed condition. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a corner of one of the top pieces, showing the metallic-strip hook located thereon.

The crate consists ot the solid wooden base 1, having at its ends the hinged end pieces 2 2. The hinges for these end pieces consist of interloclring staples 3 3, one staple being driven in the upper surface of the base 1 and the other staple being driven in the lower edge of the end piece, as shown in Fig. 3. Thus when the end pieces are swung up or folded over said hinges do not protrude and are out of the way and cannot be knocked off while the crate is in transit.- The side pieces 4 4 are hinged to the longitudinal edges of the base 1 in a similar manner as that described for the end pieces 2 2, with the exception that they are attached to the elevated sections 5 5, which in turn are secured to the base 1. The top pieces 6 6 are hinged to the upper edges of the side pieces 4 4, and the free edges of the top pieces 6 6 are adapted to substantially meet, as shown in Fig. 1, when the parts of the crate are .opened up.

One of the top pieces 6 is provided at each corner with a thin metallic strip 7 7, said strip being secured to the under side of the said piece 6 and then extending up and forming a hook adapted to pass over the upper edges of the end pieces 2 2 in a manner as shown in Fig. 1. At the same time the said metallic pieces protrude beyond the edge of the top piece 6, to which they are attached, and extend under the edge of the opposite top piece 6 and form a shelf or support for the same, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 5. The opposite top piece 6 is provided with the hooks 8 8, which are adapted to engage staples on the Lipper edges of the end pieces 2 2, and thus the parts are firmly held tod gether when extended. One of the top pieces (5 is provided with an ordinary sliding section 9, which when removed permits any particular fowl to be extracted from the crate without giving the others a chanceto escape. One of the top pieces 6 is provided with a flat hinged hasp 10, which has at its end a turned-down perforated section which is adapted to pass over the inner edge of the side rail of the opposite top piece G and re- .ceive a staple on the same and be secured by a lock, as shown in Fig. 1. When the crate is collapsed, the said hasp passes over the lower edge of the opposite side piece 4and is secured in a similar manner to the staple 12, located on the lower edge of the said side piece 4. The elevated sections 5 5 are cut away at intermediate points to permit the filth on the surface of the base-piece 1 to be readily removed, and at the same time the staple 12 will not interfere with any of the parts when the side piece 4, to which` it is attached, is brought to .an upright position, as shown in Fig. 1. The sides, ends, and top pieces are preferably made of framework with wire-netting secured thereto. This insures air and light to the fowls and impart-s lightness and durability to the crate.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A collapsible crate consisting of a base, end

pieces hinged thereto, side pieces hinged to elevated sections, said sections in turn being secured to said base, one of said elevated sections being cut away, top pieces hinged to the sidepieces, iiat metallic hooks fixed at the to pass over the upper edges ofthe side pieces,

IOO

the Shanks of said hooks projecting laterally beyond the outervedge of said top piece and adapted to pass under the edge of the opposite top piece and form a support for the same, a hasp hinged to one of the top pieces, said hasp having a turned-down perforated end adapted to pass over the edge of the side piece of the framework of the opposite top piece, a staple located on said side piece and adapted to enter said hasp when the parts of the crate are set up for use, a staple located at the lower edge of one of the side pieces and adapted to enter the cut-away portion of 

